Blessed Are The Things With Wings... Part 1

Words and images copyright 2012 Susan Faye. All rights reserved.

May not be reproduced in ANY form, including electronically, without express written permission of the artist. Thank you for respecting this policy with regards to ALL artists--it's good karma!!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

And that means it's time for Gardenkeeper Tiana to get busy-- you see, she has a thing for things with wings.

So much so that every corner of her freshly blooming garden is designed to attract ANY creature lucky enough to have the gift of gravity-defying flight.

First she must clean and repair the things to please the things with feathered wings: bird feeders and bird houses and bird baths placed strategically near tall trees and bushy bushes so that even the smallest of tweeters will feel safe.

[click here for Yard Envy's great tips for Attracting Birds to Your Bird Feeder]

Then it's time to fill the tiny pond to attract things with iridescent wings: the dragonflies and damselflies. Tiana uses a wooden half-barrel to create a mini-pond in a corner of her garden, complete with lily pads and lotus flowers.

[click here for the National Wildlife Federation's tips on Attracting Dragonflies to your Yard]

Next she is planting lots of sweet-smelling and brightly-colored herbs, perennials and flowering shrubs to lure the nectar-seeking things with wings. Pink and red blossoms seem to be a particular favorite of butterflies and hummingbirds.

[TheButterflySite.com has lots of great tips for creating a butterfly garden, with lists of butterflies for each state. Click here for more information: Butterfly Gardens


Also, she has planted a small grove of dwarf citrus trees for the busy buzzing kind of winged thing, because orange blossom honey is her favorite.

[For a list of honey flavors you may have never heard of, visit the National Honey Board's article on Honey Varietals]

And finally, this year she hopes to attract the fuzzy mammalian type of winged thing. Yes, she has hung a several bat houses around the garden and is keeping her fingers crossed...you see, there is one winged thing that Tiana does NOT want in her garden: the whining, biting kind. According to Bat Conservation International, a single bat can capture 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour!

[click here for the National Wildlife Federation's article on how to Build A Bat House]

"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful". ~Abram L. Urban